Trevor Tierney on the Huguely-Love Tragedy

By Trevor Tierney

In 2007, I wrote an article for Inside Lacrosse explaining my own struggles with alcohol abuse in college and for a few years afterwards. To make a long story short, I had fallen into the party culture of our sport as a college and professional player and it had completely dragged me down as a person. When I was 25 years old, I decided that alcohol was causing too many problems in my life and that I needed to make a change. So, I sobered up and never touched a drop of alcohol for six years as I grew up mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

In the past year or so, I have learned that I am now able to enjoy a beer at dinner with friends on special occasions, but I never have more than that as I understand the word "moderation" now and have no desire or impulse to get drunk or even buzzed, for that matter. Anyway, towards the end of the piece for Inside Lacrosse, I wrote, "I must admit that I've watched the world with a different view for the past couple of years. I've seen many things in the lacrosse world that would have never happened without alcohol being involved. I've seen multiple people die and many lives ruined because of alcohol, and that saddens me."

It still saddens me that these things continue to happen in our great sport and the family that we all care about deeply. I know this article may trigger or upset some people, but I am simply writing it out of love for our sport and everyone involved.

This article is my take on the George Huguely V and Yeardley Love tragedy. Many people in lacrosse are tip-toeing around this topic, like it is some deep, dark family secret, and that's because it is. It's an extremely sensitive topic that is sad and quite challenging to talk about. But we need to be open and discuss it, to discover any healing from a tragedy like this. If we just try to sweep it under the rug, then we are minimizing the tragedy that took place. If you have not heard about the story, just type "Huguely trial or Yeardley Love" into Google and you will find plenty of information.

Also, there was an interesting article in the Baltimore Sun this past week entitled Huguely trial highlights alcohol abuse at colleges, universities that is worth a read and is along the same lines of what I am about to discuss. I should start off by saying that I sincerely offer my prayers and condolences to the late Yeardley Love, her family, her former teammates and her friends, a couple of whom I know but many of whom I do not know. No woman should ever have to go through what she did in her death and the most tragic part about this whole situation is her loss.

Last night, the drama came to a close as a jury convicted Huguely of second-degree murder and recommended a sentencing of 26 years in a state prison. The sentencing brought me great sadness, but I am not sad nor do I feel bad for Huguely. There is absolutely no excuse to ever touch another woman or another person in a violent way. Severe punishment for these types of actions is deserved and in our society, you get locked up, and rightfully so. Huguely is now facing the consequences of his decisions and actions and will be going to a state prison for over 20 years, which is certainly no cake walk. He is paying dearly and getting what he deserves. At the same time though, there was no punishment that could account for the pain and suffering that Love's family and friends will endure for the rest of their lives.